[Criminal Number 18F]

Er, I have a big vocabulary?

Hey, how many FReepers know what a 'hoplite' is? (was)?

ullage: the part of a fuel tank not containing liquid fuel, therefore, the part which will normally contain fumes from the evaporation of the fuel. It's a highly arcane technical term and maybe I should not have used it without defining it.

tatterdemalion: shabby; wretched; all beat-up! Can also be a n. for a person (especially a boy) in such condition. It might be archaic; my grandmother used to use it.

And yeah, I really use words like this in conversation... most of my friends an co-workers do too, but then, some folks need to know what an "ullage" is.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Hoplite]

The last time a friend pulled a big word out on me was when I learned that 'sesquipedalian' meant six legged, as in a man on horseback.

Of course, now that I look it up in order to check the spelling I find that it actually means 'long winded'.

And to think, I thought his s&*t eating grin was due simply to his utilization and subsequent definition of a word I was unfamiliar with.

Aye carumba.